The Boston Celtics are heading to the NBA Finals and leading the way has been first-year head coach Ime Udoka, who has established himself as one of the best young head coaches in the entire league, but Celtics veteran Jaylen Brown says the league hasn’t exactly embraced black coaches.
“I mean the proof is in the pudding,” Brown said during an interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “Look around the league. Now you’re starting to see what we can do in the coaching ranks. Before, the talk was that certain people of color were not qualified to do their jobs or whatever the excuse was. Man, you give these guys an opportunity and look what they did with it. First-year head coach Ime Udoka took us to the Finals. Look at Monty Williams in Phoenix, look at Dallas with Jason Kidd. You look at all these coaches around the league, and I’m happy to see that they’re finally getting an opportunity. Black coaches and people of color are deserving and they’re capable of getting the job done just like anybody else.”
Brown certainly has a point with his fair criticism of the league, and with the successes of Udoka, Williams, and Kidd, there will certainly be a more diverse structure of head coaching opportunities moving forward.
